How Shooting Affects Your Hearing

PROTECTING YOUR HEARING WHEN SHOOTING dB The decibel (dB) is the unit used to measure the intensity of a sound. HOW DO NOISES COMPARE? 160 9mm Pistol 158 .38 Special 156 12 Gauge Shotgun 140 Jet Taking Off 120 Police/Ambulance Siren 110 Chainsaw 60 Conversation SIGNS OF HEARING DAMAGE Muffling of sound. Difficulty distinguishing words when people talk to you. Difficulty determining from which direction a sound is coming. Tinnitus, ringing or buzzing noise in your ear after exposure to noise. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes for noise- induced hearing loss to happen. For unprotected ears, the allowed exposure time decreases by one half for each 5 dB increase in the average noise level. For instance, exposure is limited to 8 hours per day at 90 dB, 4 hours per day at 95 dB, and 2 hours per day at 100 dB. HEARING PROTECTION OPTIONS Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) - Amount of protection a hearing NRR protection device will give in a noisy environment. NRR is the decibel (dB) reduction provided by hearing protection. Earplugs – Fits inside the ear Cost -$ NRR – "20 dB to "30dB Passive Earmuffs - Fits over the ear Cost - $ to $$ NRR – "17 dB to ~33dB Electronic Earmuffs - Fits over the ear. Provides additional noise management features. Cost - $$ to $$ NRR - "17 dB to "33dB Double Hearing Protection... Wearing earplugs inside your ear, with either passive or electronics earmuffs over your ear, will result in an overall increased NRR score. For example, if your earplugs have a NRR of 26 dB and your earmuffs have a NRR of 34 dB, wearing the two together will result in an overall NRR of approximately 41 dB. References: ttp://www.audiold http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx http://www.freehearingtest.com/hia_gunfirenoise.shtml http://american-hearing.org/disorders/noise-induced-hearing-loss/ http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/otolaryngology/noise-induced_hearing_loss_85,P00458/ 1/articles/extra-protection-wearing-earmuffs d-1218 SMOKING MBARREL Decibel Level